Tennis racket

ABSTRACT

Disclosed is a tennis racket ( 1 ) including an oval frame ( 10 ) supporting a mesh ( 14 ). The little holes or all the little holes ( 140 ) of the mesh ( 14 ) are arranged between the geometric centre (C) of the frame and the apex (S) of the frame.

The invention relates to a tennis racket.

In a known way, a tennis racket comprises a handle, an oval frame and a Y-portion which connects the handle to the frame. The frame supports a sieve formed by the crossing of longitudinal cords and of transverse cords. The longitudinal cords are called uprights and the transverse cords are called ribs. The frame defines a geometrical center on which is centered the mesh, i.e. the smallest meshes of the sieve are positioned in the central region of the sieve, i.e. all around the geometrical center of the frame. The rules of tennis actually describe that the stringing should be homogeneous as a whole and notably not less dense at the center than at any other point.

However, studies have shown that the majority of the blows delivered by the players are localized in a hitting area which is positioned, when the racket is held vertically with the handle oriented downwards, slightly above the geometrical center of the frame. This may be explained by the fact that there is better energy restoration in this area when the racket is moving. This hitting area actually benefits from a greater lever arm than the area strictly located at the geometrical center of the frame. Thus, the area where the meshes are more narrow, i.e. where the meshes are of smallest dimensions, is off-centered with respect to the preferential hitting area of the players. The preferential hitting area of the players therefore does not coincide with the optimum yield area of the racket.

These are the drawbacks for which the invention intends to more particularly find a remedy by proposing a tennis racket with which the best yield area coincides with the hitting area of the players.

For this purpose, the invention relates to a tennis racket, comprising an oval frame supporting a sieve. According to the invention, the or all the smallest meshes of the sieve are positioned between the geometrical center and the apex of the frame.

By means of the invention, the meshes of the sieve are—narrower at the preferential hitting area, as mentioned above, of the tennis players, which provides a better yield of the racket during a blow. This increase in the yield is expressed by an improvement in the control, in the spin and in the power, an effect which is obtained by acting on the spacing of the cords.

According to advantageous but non-mandatory aspects of the invention, the tennis racket may include one or several of the following features, taken in any technically acceptable combination:

-   -   The or all the smallest meshes of the sieve define a center of         the sieve, which is positioned on an axis of symmetry of the         sieve passing through the geometrical center and the apex of the         frame.     -   The distance between the geometrical center of the frame and the         center of the sieve is comprised between 5.5% and 53% of the         distance between the geometrical center and the apex of the         frame.     -   A single smaller mesh is provided on the sieve.     -   The sieve comprises longitudinal cords parallel to the axis of         symmetry of the sieve and transverse cords perpendicular to the         longitudinal cords, while the smallest mesh of the sieve has a         longitudinal dimension smaller than that of the other meshes of         the sieve and a transverse dimension smaller than that of the         other meshes of the sieve.     -   The center of the sieve is at the center of the smallest mesh.     -   The sieve comprises 16 longitudinal cords and 19 transverse         cords.     -   The smallest mesh of the sieve is defined, from the apex,         between the seventh and eighth transverse cords of the sieve.     -   The smallest mesh of the sieve is defined between the eighth and         ninth longitudinal cords.     -   The meshes of the sieve, other than the smallest mesh, are all         the smaller since they are close to the smallest mesh.

The invention and other advantages thereof will become more clearly apparent in the light of the description which follows of an embodiment of a tennis racket according to its principle, only given as an example and made with reference to FIG. 1, which is a partial and front view of a tennis racket according to the invention.

In FIG. 1, is illustrated a tennis racket 1 including a handle not shown, a frame 10 and a Y-shaped portion 12, called a “yoke”, which connects the handle to the frame 10. The frame 10 is an oval frame, i.e. in an elliptical shape defining a geometrical center C. The center C is positioned at the intersection between a major axis and a minor axis of the frame 10. The major axis is a segment borne by a longitudinal axis X1 and the minor axis is a segment borne by a transverse axis X2 perpendicular to the axis X1. The frame 10 includes an apex S, which is positioned on the axis X1 opposite to the handle relatively to the center C. F refers to an image point of the apex S by central symmetry of center C. The major axis is a segment from the apex S to the point F. The minor axis is a segment perpendicular to the major axis from point A to a point B. The points A, B, S and F are positioned on the outer contour of the frame 10.

The frame 10 supports a sieve 14 formed with a set of longitudinal cords 14 a, called uprights and of transverse cords 14 b, called ribs, which cross each other. The longitudinal cords 14 a extend parallel to the axis X1 and the transverse cords 14 b extend parallel to the axis X2. Moreover, the sieve 14 is symmetrical relatively to the axis X1.

The sieve 14 comprises 16 longitudinal cords 14 a and 19 transverse cords 14 b. This is referred to as a stringing plane 16×19. By making the meshes of a stringing plane 16×19 more narrow, stringing planes 18×20 will be used, known for providing more control, and by spacing apart the meshes of a stringing plane 16×19, stringing planes 14×19 are used, known for the effect which they may give to the ball. The stringing 16×19 therefore benefits from both of these effects, each effect may be enhanced depending on the spacing between the cords 14 a and/or 14 b. A 140 refers to the smallest mesh of the sieve 14. This mesh 140 has a longitudinal dimension, i.e. measured parallel to the axis X1, which is smaller than that of all the other meshes of the sieve 14. The mesh 140 also has a transverse dimension, i.e. measured parallel to the axis X2, which is smaller than that of all the other meshes of the sieve 14. The mesh 140 is a rectangular mesh and is positioned between the geometrical center C and the apex S of the frame 10. The first and last transverse cords are referred to with t1 and t19. The first transverse cord t1 is positioned as close as possible to the apex S of the frame 10, while the last transverse cord t19 is positioned as close as possible to the point F.

The mesh 140 is defined between a seventh transverse cord t7 and an eighth transverse cord t8 of the sieve 14 from the cord t1 to the cord t19. The mesh 140 of the sieve 14 is also defined between the eighth and ninth longitudinal cords 18 and 19 of the sieve 14. The longitudinal dimension of the mesh 140 is comprised between 8 mm and 14 mm, while the transverse dimension of the mesh 140 is comprised between 8 mm and 14 mm. The smallest mesh 140 of the sieve 14 defines a center C′, which is positioned on the axis of symmetry X1 of the sieve 14, between the geometrical center C and the apex S of the oval frame 10.

The center C′ is positioned at the center of the mesh 140, i.e. at the intersection point of both diagonals of the rectangle forming the mesh 140. The center C′ is the center of the sieve 14. d1 refers to the distance, measured parallel to the axis X1, between the center of the sieve C′ and the geometrical center C of the frame 10. d2 refers to the distance between the geometrical center C and the apex S of the frame 10. The distance d1 is comprised between 5.5% and 53%, preferably between 25% and 28% of the distance d2.

The meshes, other than the mesh 140, of the sieve 14 are all the smaller when they are close to the mesh 140. These other meshes of the sieve 14 are therefore narrower on an area positioned around the mesh 140. This area in practice corresponds to the preferential hitting area of the players, notably professionals. It is off-centered relatively to the geometrical center C of the frame 10, notably positioned between the center C and the apex S of the frame 10. It encompasses about 90% of the impact points of the ball on the sieve 14.

The hitting area thus comprises the smallest meshes of the sieve 14. The “core” of the stringing plane of the sieve 14 is therefore located in this hitting area. The fact that the meshing of the sieve is narrower in this heating area allows the players to use its racket in the area providing the best yield. For example, the spacing between the cords 14 a and/or 14 b is more or less significant in this area depending on the desired effect for the racket. For example, narrower cords provide more control, while less narrower cords provide more “spin”, i.e. more effect imparted to the ball.

In a non-illustrated alternative, the sieve includes several meshes of identical dimensions and smaller than those of all the other meshes of the sieve. For example, the smallest meshes of the sieve may be 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 or more in number. These meshes are centered on a point approximately positioned or specifically at the same location as the point C′. In this case, the center defined by these meshes of minimum size may be at the center of a mesh but also at a crossing point between two cords. In this alternative, all the smallest meshes of the sieve are positioned between the geometrical center C and the apex S of the frame 10.

As a non-illustrated alternative, the sieve 14 may comprise a number of longitudinal cords 14 a different from 16, for example equal to 18 or 14, and a number of transverse cords 14 b different from 19, for example equal to 20 or 18.

According to another alternative not shown, the or the smallest meshes of the sieve 14 are square-shaped.

According to another alternative not shown, the longitudinal cords 14 a are not strictly parallel to the axis X1.

According to another alternative not shown, the transverse cords 14 b are not strictly parallel to the axis X2.

According to another alternative not shown, the racket 1 is a racket with a size adapted for children.

The technical features and alternatives of the embodiments contemplated above may be combined together in order to generate novel embodiments of the invention. 

1-10. (canceled)
 11. A tennis racket, comprising an oval frame supporting a sieve, wherein the or all the smallest meshes of the sieve are positioned between the geometrical center of a frame and an apex of the frame.
 12. The racket according to claim 11, wherein the or all the smallest meshes of the sieve define a center of the sieve, which is positioned on an axis of symmetry of the sieve passing through the geometrical center and the apex of the frame.
 13. The racket according to claim 12, wherein a distance between the geometrical center of the frame and the center of the sieve is comprised between 5.5% and 53% of the distance between the geometrical center and the apex of the frame.
 14. The racket according to claim 12, wherein a single smaller mesh is provided on the sieve.
 15. The racket according to claim 14, wherein the sieve comprises longitudinal cords parallel to the axis of symmetry of the sieve and transverse cords perpendicular to the longitudinal cords and wherein the smallest mesh of the sieve has a longitudinal dimension smaller than that of the other meshes of the sieve and a transverse dimension less than that of the other meshes of the sieve.
 16. The racket according to claim 14, wherein the center of the sieve is at the center of the smallest mesh.
 17. The racket according to claim 14, wherein the sieve comprises 16 longitudinal cords and 19 transverse cords.
 18. The racket according to claim 17, wherein the smallest mesh of the sieve is defined, from the apex, between the seventh and eighth transverse cords of the sieve.
 19. The racket according to claim 17, wherein the smallest mesh of the sieve is defined between the eighth and ninth longitudinal cords.
 20. The racket according to claim 14, wherein the meshes of the sieve, other than the smallest mesh, are all the smaller when they are close to the smallest mesh. 